In a world dominated by brushless motors and fiberglass hulls, it can be a daunting task to bring a brushed ABS hull to market without hobbyists crying for an upgrade... that is, of course, unless it's the Pro Boat Stealthwake. As a long time gas and electric boat racer and reviewer, I've driven plenty of budget-priced, overpowered brushless hulls with sketchy handling characteristics. They're good for a quick burst of straight-line speed, but quickly become unmanageable when a turn is initiated; introduce a little chop on the water and you can barely hold a straight line! The Stealthwake is the opposite of the aforementioned setup; its deep vee design and solid electronics package compliments its superb handling in even the roughest "offshore" chop.

In this review, I'll go over what's included, the fit and finish of the Stealthwake, and take her out for some low-level flying across the waves on Lake Erie. This hull is truly exciting in rough conditions, so tighten your life vests, we're in for a wild ride!

What's Included - Fit and Finish

The Pro Boat Stealthwake showed up packaged safe and secure in its box, with foam holding it tightly in place. The hull is made of ABS plastic, and is thick enough to provide exceptional rigidity to the hull, with no flimsy feeling to note. I really like the graphics setup on this model; the hull is all black with orange decals applied. The cockpit hatch has a windshield graphic with faux bolts to simulate a real offshore racer; this hull definitely looks the part! An ABS stand is included to cradle the Stealthwake when sitting in dry dock.

Hanging off the transom are a pair of aluminum turn fins and trim tabs, a plastic rudder standoff and breakaway plastic rudder, and a non-adjustable stinger drive. The turn fins are not breakaway and the trim tabs are fixed and not adjustable without bending them. Based on it's performance, I can honestly say that no adjustments are needed to any of the components; they're set just right from the factory.

Let's discuss that rudder: the standoff is 2" long and bolts to the transom with a pair of machine screws and lock nuts on the inside. The rudder is known as a breakaway design that will pivot back and sheer the breakaway pin if it strikes a hard object in the water. This is by design, and saves the transom in case of a hard hit.

The propeller is made of plastic and is 1.6"x2.5". It works well for this size hull and power combo, and has held up to a few accidental beachings as we piloted the Stealthwake very close to the sandy shore on Lake Erie. The prop shaft is solid steel and exits the hull via a brass stuffing tube with brass bushings on each end. The prop shaft attaches to the motor through a brass coupler with a pair of grub screws. There was plenty of marine grease inside the stuffing tube, but make sure to buy some extra grease to keep the shaft and bushings lubricated after every session.

Inside the hull, you'll see a brushed 15-turn 550-sized motor, a 60a esc, and a Spektrum steering servo. The motor is mounted securely to the plastic support structure that runs back to the transom and provides a secure mounting location for the esc, receiver, and steering servo as well. The plastic support structure is glued to the inside of the hull and shows no signs of pulling off. The esc is a 60a design that's switchable between LiPo and NiMH cutoff, and has a reverse lockout in case you want to race it in IMPBA or NAMBA sanctioned events. The steering servo is a waterproof Spektrum analog S603.

On the bottom of the hull is the water cooling pickup; it utilizes the boats forward momentum to force water through the cooling tubes, around the motor's watercooling coil, and out the side of the hull. Brushed motors generate quite a lot of heat compared to brushless motors, so cooling is essential; the cooling system works well and I could always see a steady stream of water exiting the left side of the hull.

A 7.2v NiMH or 7.4v LiPo will fit nicely in the battery cradle on the left side of the hull. It comes with a hook-and-loop strap and rubber base to prevent the battery from moving around inside. The Stealthwake comes with Dynamite EC3 connectors installed, but I changed it over to the XT60 connector only because I use that connector on all my batteries as personal preference.

The Pro Boat Stealthwake includes an ECX 2.4GHz transmitter and a Dynamite 7.2V 2400mAh NiMH battery and wall charger. The transmitter is a no-frills unit; it works well, has plenty of range, and features the standard steering and throttle dual-rate and trim knobs, as well as steering and throttle reverse switches. Pro Boat includes 4 AA batteries to help get you in the water faster.

Performance Report

Shortly after RCGroups editor Jason Cole posted a news story about the Stealthwake, people instinctively began questioning the brushed motor and wondered about upgrades. I can say with all honesty that the Stealthwake doesn't need any more power than what's on tap with the included 550 brushed motor; it's not designed for ballistic top-end speed, there's plenty of other low-profile hulls that excel at that. What the Stealthwake is designed for is blasting through choppy water with predictable handling and modest speed for those conditions. It holds its lines well, turns well, and even catches air and lands well. Allow me explain...

With the deep-vee design of the Stealthwake's hull the most obvious giveaway to it's offshore prowess, I decided to shoot the photo and video review at Lake Erie, where the waves would definitely put this boat to the test. With a charged 2s 5000mAh LiPo strapped in tightly, I had my friend Adam Schaeffer pilot the Stealthwake in the rolling surf of the bay at Edgewater Park in Cleveland Ohio. The winds were light out of the east, making for a nice little chop on the water. Right from first launch, I knew we had a winner on our hands; the Stealthwake blasted through the waves like a true offshore racer. At full throttle, it skipped across the water, jumping from one wave to the next, all the while holding it's line without much deviation. On some of the larger waves, the Stealthwake ramped up the face of them, blasting through the crest and launched cleanly into the air without flipping; it's a very well balanced hull and maintains composure well in the air. On two instances, we hit a rogue monster-wave that was just too much for the Stealthwake to maintain attitude in the air. In those situations, the front of the hull airs out and flips back. Only once did it land upside-down, requiring us to wait as the wind blew it quickly to shore.

Top speed is an estimated 18-20mph and run times are a respectable 10-12 minutes with mostly wide open running on a 2s 5000mAh 25c LiPo. The included 7.2v 2400mAh showed run times of around 10 minutes, with a slight reduction in top speed. After a session in the surf, there was maybe a tablespoon of water in the hull, which is common for any boat as water is forced up the stuffing tube and is nothing to be worried about.

Video

Action Photos

Conclusion

The Pro Boat Stealthwake excels in rough water conditions. It's a true deep vee hull that's at home cutting through choppy waters and catching air just like a real offshore race boat. In it's ready-to-run configuration, the Stealthwake includes a brushed motor and 60a esc, a 7.2v 2400 NiMH and wall charger, and a 2.4GHz transmitter; just what you need to hit the water quickly without dropping more money on upgrades. As an entry into boating or a great play boat for the seasoned boater, I would highly recommend the Pro Boat Stealthwake.

The pictures and video are way too cool. That little boat seems like the perfect boat to bash around with and have fun with vs the faster high end boats which can be a total pain if you happen to flip. I think horizon has a winner on their hands with this one

I saw this boat at the lhs and it looks so good in person. The pictures you took were amazing but some how in person it looks even better. I'm highly considering this one to fill the "just for fun" category

I am really intrigued by this boat, I started off in this hobby after a 20 year break with a kyosho twinstorm it was totally unreliable but was fantastic fun jumping the chop at 20mph all winter long at my local lake. Over the years I've got into the rut of building super fast 6/12s SAW machines and somehow lost the "fun" element of the hobby.

I think this will be tons of fun and hope it's as good as it looks in the vid!